The Prince of Hallowvale
by Floating Leaves
Summary: A player ponders about Safalaan, leader of the Myreque, son of Queen Efaritay, and rightful heir to the throne of Morytania.


A/N: This is a little piece I was inspired to write after completing Darkness of Hallowvale and watching a video quest guide to Branches of Darkmeyer. Enjoy!

oOo

I remember when I first met Safalaan. I had been very eager to be introduced to the renowned leader of the Myreque; I had spoken to Vertida Sefalatis, Safalaan's second-in-command, and I deemed him to be a worthy man. So the leader, I thought, must be a very great person indeed.

It was Vertida that sent me to seek Safalaan so that I might aid the Myreque further. I had finally located the Myreque base in Meiyerditch after a nerve-wrecking trek through the maze that the ghettos formed. I suppose the intraversability of the city was designed by the vampyres to keep the humans in check. Mazes wouldn't matter to the vampyres; they could fly. I almost got blood tithed by a Vyrewatch, but a show of boldness saw me through unharmed.

I found Safalaan on the northern reach of the western wall of Meiyerditch. To the east was situated the Vyre capital of Darkmeyer, and to the left loomed the dark castle where the terrible Lord Drakan resided.

It did not take a particularly clear-sighted person to see that Safalaan was different than the masses; even amongst the exceptional fellows in the Myreque, he would have stood out like an eagle amid a flock of sparrows. He was clad in fine robes of purple, and they gave him a very regal air, but even if he had worn the rags of the Meiyerditch citizens, one could not have taken him for anything less than a king or prince.

In his finely sculpted face was a pair of icy blue eyes, searing in their intensity. They were a surprise and a relief after the lost, murky gazes of the ragged folk in the ghettos. His eyes reminded me of the wings of Icyenes, such as I had seen in a painting of Queen Efaritay in the galleries of the Varrock Palace. He had broad, muscular shoulders, slightly disproportional to the rest of his rather slender figure. He was well-groomed: his short, dark hair was sleek against his head, and he sported a neat goatee on his chin. He carried himself nobly, and I would have deemed him to possess an aura of arrogance, had it not been clear in his sharp features and brilliant eyes that he was a valiant commander, one whose purpose is guided by the needs of the people he led and not his own.

I learned later that though Safalaan was every bit the strong and worthy leader I imagined him to be, that he was completely selfless was not quite true. It was some time later, after my discovery of the abandoned lab, and following my adventure with the Ivandis flail, that I came to this realisation.

During my foray into Darkmeyer, an expedition such that no Myreque member had ever undertaken, I learned, through my vampyre nemesis Vanstrom Klause as he taunted me before the battle in which I defeated him at last, that Safalaan was half-Icyene; he was no less than the son of Queen Efaritay herself. I was told by Vertida that he had grown moody of late, and I had seen for myself when I delivered the mysterious letter to him that he was becoming obsessed with learning about his unknown past, such that he was becoming disinterested with well-being of the Myreque.

I do not condemn him for this. He is no less our leader now than before. I have faith in his unwavering loyalty to the Myreque; he will not betray us for his own interests. And this besides; Safalaan's heritage may prove important to the Myreque's struggle against the vampyres. If information about it can only be gained from Vanescula, then I believe we should take that risk. Vertida has his doubts, as do we all, but he too acknowledges that we are in need of aid from one who can match the power of Lord Drakan.

Safalaan's cause is the Myreque's cause, and the Myreque's cause is my own. Whatever duty is given to me, I shall fulfill, to work towards the liberation of Morytania from the rule of the vampyres, and to assist Safalaan to the best of my ability if he should wish to reclaim the throne at Hallowvale that is his birthright. May Saradomin be with us all.

oOo

What do you think? Review, please!


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